My Newfoundland cross had knee surgery on Tues. the 26th. He is not eating and drinking like he should. Today he has hardly drank anything nor has he gone to the bathroom. How can I get him to drink? I have tried the chickien broth, that worked yesterday, but not today. What can I do? Thanks!
Optional Information: Type of Animal: newfoundland/lab cross Gender: Male Age: 5 Name of Animal: Jack Already Tried: Chicken broth, which worked yesterday, but not today. I got an ice cube in him today, but that is all.
Hello, I am Dr. Zoe. Is Jack eating normally? BUt just not drinking? Or is he both not eating/drinking well?
Is he on any particular medications right now such as Rimadyl or an antibiotic? If he is not eating/drinking well then my top concern would be that one of his medications is causing nausea. Usually a dog will stop eating first and drinking second. If he is still eating and/or if he likes canned food try that! You can also water down dry food.
I see that you have given me a poor rating, but I believe we are still in the middle of our chat. In order to get you suggestions and try to understand what is going on with Jack, we need to have a bit more of a back-and-forth dialog. Please please let me know what is going on and how I may be of assistance.
If you feel that you would like to work with another one of our veterinarians on the forum let me know and I can Opt Out of the question and get you to another person.
He is not eating normally, but I am getting him to eat some boiled chicken. He is on 19 pills a day. Tramadol, antibiotics, an antiinflmatory, and he is on thyroid meds.
He has been doing pretty good for the first day or two, but is eating less and drinking less. He was constipated, but he finally had a bowel movement yesterday, actually 2. I just do not think he is drinking enough. Do I need to stop some of the meds to get him to drink? My vet had said to stop the tramadol to get him to poop, now I need him to drink, is there anything I can do to get him to drink?
First, I worry that he is not eating well and this may truly be associated with one of his medications (probably the antibiotic or anti-inflammatory). I am, however, reluctant to give you any recommendation of stopping one or both until you consult with the veterinarian that performed the surgery as this person can tell you which may be safest to stop first for a day or two to determine who is the culprit, if medication related. If you are unable to consult until Monday then I recommend take a break on the antibiotic for 24 hours (it will not be detrimental) and if he seems to improve, then we know this was the culprit. At that point if he is still not doing well your vet should be available on Monday to discuss a trial of stopping the anti-inflammatory for 24-48 hours and see if this could be a problem. For the constipation, this can be "normal" after anestheisa because the colon goes to sleep too and can take upwards or 5 or 6 days post-op to resume normal activity; however, it sounds like this is starting to resume again. But you are absolutely correct that he needs to drink in order to have normal bowel function.
Of course, tramadol does not help with constipation when given at its higher doses. There is not any particular medication that we can give him that may help with drinking. But I can suggest something for nausea which may help both drinking and eating. You can give him Pepcid AC (famotidine) which you can purchase OTC at any people pharmacy. For his size you would give one of the 20mg tabs every 12 hours. This is the extra-strength. There are no bad side effects and may help! Will not interact with his other drugs.
I have tried what you have suggested, watering the food and caned food.
Thank you. You know, some of us just need a word of comfort to make sure we are doing everythin possible to make sure our pets are okay. I thank you for taking the time for Jack. Iwill change my rating. I just get distraught and crazy when there is something wrong with my dog. I love him.
It sounds like you are doing a great job. I know it is extremely difficult after this type of surgery. They are often in such discomfort for a while, and then we have other complications such as this.
Also, if not already done you can tempt him to eat with boiled chicken breast (or boiled ground beef or cottage cheese) and white rice (or if he doesn't like rice, then try pasta).
Do you have any further questions or has anything I have mentioned seem confusing or unclear?
It appears you have stepped out of our chat session or we have lost our connection. Our chat has ended, but you can still continue to ask me questions here until you are satisfied with your answer. Come back to this page to view our conversation and any other new information. What happens now? If you haven’t already done so, please update your rating as you mentioned. If you feel that you have not received the information that you need, please let me know what further questions you have so that I can answer these or find another expert on our forum who can. You can reply to me using the box below.Dr. Zoe41091.0928882292
I tried to change the rating, but it did not look like it worked. So, please know that I changed it to excellent. Thank you for you help.
No, it did not change the rating yet. But thank you so much for trying. I think you should still see something with the box below that you can push to change the rating.
Hi Phyllis,I'm just following up on our conversation about Jack. How is everything going?Dr. Zoe
Well, I tried again to change the rating to excellent, but it just doesn't seem to work. I am sorry about that. Might be cause I am on the laptop. I will try again when I get upstairs to the desktop.
As for Jack, he is doing better. I did what you suggested and it at least got him to drink. Talked to my Vet Monday morning and he had me put him back on the antibiotics and off of the prevacox. And he is drinking more, pooping and peeing and a tiny bit spunky. I apologize for being hateful. I was just worried about him. He is my gift from God and I LOVE him. I appreciate your help and I will try again to change the rating. Thanks again, Phyllois
I completely understand. Our priority is that he is feeling better, which is sounds like he is going in the right direction. This is wonderful!
Experience: 12 yrs in practice, specialist canine/feline medicine